About us

50 years of the University of Gdańsk

The University of Gdańsk is a dynamically developing institution of higher learning, and one that combines respect for tradition with a commitment to the new. It offers education in nearly all fields of academic knowledge, in sought-after professions on the job market and in state-of-the-art facilities in its Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia campuses. It is currently one of the most modern academic centres in Poland. 

The University of Gdańsk was founded on 20 March 1970. It was formed from an amalgamation of two institutions of higher education: the Higher Economics School in Sopot and the Higher Pedagogical School in Gdańsk. Later, it also included the Higher Teacher Training School. The precursor of the Higher Economics School in Sopot was the Higher School of Maritime Trade in Sopot, which opened in 1945 and awarded its first degrees in 1947.

20 March 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the University of Gdańsk, at present the largest university in the Pomeranian region, which has had an indisputable influence on the development of modern Poland, science and higher education. We have eleven faculties with over 25 thousand students, doctoral students and post-graduates, who are taught by more than one thousand seven hundred academic staff. In such fields of study as Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Oceanography, Quantum Physics, Pedagogy, Psychology, Law  and Economic Sciences, the University of Gdańsk is one of the best institutions in Poland. 

Science, cooperation, innovations 

The University of Gdańsk boasts significant scientific achievement which enforces its leading position, particularly through activity and research connected with the sea.  In this regard, the University has been involved in cooperation with scientific research centres from nearly all corners of the globe.

The University of Gdańsk is involved (as one of five Polish universities) in the creation of a network of European universities selected in the ‘European Universities’ competition organised by the European Commission. In conjunction with its partners, the University of Cádiz (Spain), the University of Split (Croatia), the Université de Bretagne Occidentale (France), Kiel University (Germany) and the University of Malta (Malta), the University of Gdańsk forms a consortium of the European University of the Seas (SEA-EU). The University has been a two-time winner of the special programme of the Foundation for Polish Science, the International Research Agendas, aimed at establishing in Poland innovative centres of excellence with the participation of the best researchers from across the world. The University of Gdańsk received 76 million PLN to establish two agendas, the International Centre for Cancer Vaccine Science, led by two world-class scientists, Prof. Ted Hupp and Prof. Robin Fahraeus, and the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies (ICTQT), headed by Prof. Marek Żukowski.

Owing to its academic character, the University of Gdańsk implements a host of diverse scientific research, representing the Humanities, Economic Sciences as well as the Social, Exact and Natural Sciences. The most notable successes have been achieved in the fields of biomedical and biomolecular research as well as theoretical foundations for quantum technologies. It is in these areas that University of Gdańsk scientists have made spectacular discoveries, with the molecular biologists or chemists achieving significant successes in devising new medication or innovative diagnostic methods and the quantum physicists’ ground-breaking discoveries, having reached the high number of 1,500 citations through publication in international scientific journals. In the areas of social sciences and the humanities, the broadly defined intercultural research is particularly noteworthy, encompassing studies of international relations from a great variety of perspectives, cultural, economic, linguistic or in relation to international communication. Research into psychological diagnosis is also very strongly represented. As regards research into literary studies, mention should be made of extensive, long-term research programmes such as studies of the output and reception of Bruno Schulz or research into 20^th-century traumas such as the Holocaust.  University of Gdańsk historians have notable academic achievements to their credit regarding the medieval and modern history of Gdańsk, while archaeologists are present in Iraq, Turkey or Macedonia and ethnographers conduct studies of, amongst others, the culture of Aboriginal peoples. Research into the language and culture of Kashubia also constitutes an important element of the University’s academic activity. 

The University of Gdańsk ranks high in the field of innovation and has received funds to implement projects as part of Horizon 2020, the European Union’s largest development programme. Amongst the eleven projects, the largest funding has been awarded to the following three: “Structural Transformation to Attain Responsible BIOSciences” (STARBIOS 2), “Virus-X: Viral Metagenomics for Innovation Value” and the prestigious ERC Starting Grant “Dissecting the mechanism of DNA repair in human mitochondria”.

The following innovative research and undertakings regarding, among other things, blue biotechnology, biodiversity, marine ecosystems, sustainable development of cities or biomedicine, have also been conducted at the University of Gdańsk as part of European centres and networks of excellence: Research and Education Centre for Urban Socio-Economic Development (RECOURSE), Centre of Excellence for Baltic Development, Education and Research (BALTDER), Centre of Excellence in Bio-safety and Molecular Biomedicine (BioMoBil), Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (MARBEF), European Vigilance Network for the Management of Antiviral Drug Resistance (VIRGIL) and the Centre of Molecular Biotechnology for Healthy Life (MOBI4Health).

The University of Gdańsk prides itself on seventy-six projects financed as part of the Framework Programmes and the Horizon 2020 Programme. It is also one of the most active Polish universities in implementing projects as part of the Structural Funds – the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and community initiatives. In the programming period 2007-2013 the University signed a total of seventy-one agreements for project funding, and sixty-three in the programming period 2014-2020. These include projects as part of the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomeranian Voivodeship, the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development, the Smart Growth Operational Programme, the Operational Programme Digital Poland and the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. Other important undertakings include such integrated projects as “The University of Gdańsk Development Programme” (ProUG) or “Accessible UG – a complex programme to remove barriers in access to education for persons with disabilities”.

University of Gdańsk researchers have also secured other European and international grants, for example as part of the EEA and Norway Grants, the European Territorial Cooperation, Bonus, Polonez, Beethoven or Erasmus Plus. The University has also been successful in applying for grants from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA).

The research activity of the University of Gdańsk scientists is conducted in twenty-one scientific disciplines, which translates into significant numbers. Between 2002 and January 2020 the University signed around 420 agreements for the funding for European and international projects. At present the University of Gdańsk is implementing eighty-two international scientific, research and development and didactic projects to the total value of over 214 million PLN. In addition, 228 domestic scientific and development projects are being implemented to the total value of over 169 million PLN (the majority of which span several years and the amount given reflects the entire funding).

As a result of the bonds forged between scientific activity and economic practice, the University of Gdańsk issues a great number of copyright-protected expert reports and opinions. Due to the endeavours of UG academic staff, the University has become a business incubator in such fields as biotechnology, biology or chemistry.

The University of Gdańsk has been listed in the most important world rankings, thus joining the ranks of the best Polish universities. Its presence in such international rankings as the QS World University Ranking or the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking is a reflection of the high quality of education, scientific research conducted and increasing international standing as well as  a high level of knowledge transfer to the economy. The dynamic development of the University of Gdańsk is reflected in its presence amongst the world’s 400 best young universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings 2019 in which the University of Gdańsk was the only Polish university to feature. Environmental sciences also rank high in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, with the highest scoring field in the entire university and one of the highest in Poland on the basis of the quality of scientific publications, number of citations and international cooperation. The University of Gdańsk is also in fourth place globally with regard to the participation of women in scientific publications at universities, as presented by the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2019.

The University is involved in intensive ongoing activity aimed at improving the quality of the  scientific research conducted and for this purpose it has received funding as part of the “Excellence Strategy – Research University” programme by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.  

In mari via tua

The University remains faithful to its original 1970 motto – In mari via tua (The sea is your way). The University’s maritime authority has been substantiated by the excellent and internationally renowned research stations – the Institute of Oceanography’s Prof. Krzysztof Skóra Hel Marine Station, the Bird Migration Research Station and the Biological Station in Sobieszewo. The University’s maritime image is also reflected in its fields of study, specialities and research connected with the sea and in particular with the Baltic coast. It features most prominently at faculties such as the Faculty of Biology or the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, in such fields of study as Biology, Geography, Environmental Protection or Oceanography but is also present at the Faculty of Chemistry, in its involvement in research into the protection of the marine environment, or the Faculty of Law and Administration, focused on research into maritime law, urban structure of Pomerania or marine forensic science. The Faculty of Economics is home to the Institute of Maritime Transport and Seaborne Trade which centres around research into the economic aspects of maritime transport and seaborne trade and is home to the specialisation International Transport and Maritime Trade which educates future experts in this field. The interests of literary scholars revolve around the city and the region, with ongoing long-term projects involving studies into the relationships between the literature of various epochs and Pomerania’s maritime issues. Research into the folklore of north-eastern Poland and Balto-Slavic mythology is underway and historical studies are dominated by issues related to the Baltic region, the history of Gdańsk or Pomerania.  

The University of Gdańsk is actively involved in Baltic cooperation through the implementation of international research projects, amongst others as part of the Horizon 2020 Programme (the ASSEMBLE Plus project) and the Interreg South Baltic Programme (the SEAPLANSPACE Project – a unique network of European cooperation in sustainable marine governance). It is also the leader of the National Centre for Baltic Research Consortium comprising Pomeranian higher education institutions and research institutes. The University of Gdańsk is the only Polish university which can boast a state-of-the-art research vessel, the r/v Oceanograf catamaran, intended for interdisciplinary research into the environment and nature of the Baltic Sea but also a place for conducting classes with students.

The University of Gdańsk implements its maritime motto by assisting in the development of the Pomeranian region whose wealth is the sea.

Scientific awards and distinctions

University of Gdańsk researchers receive domestic and international grants and awards. They hold scholarships from the National Centre for Research and Development, the National Science Centre, the Foundation for Polish Science and the most important Polish scientific prize, referred to as the Polish Nobel Prize, awarded by the Foundation for Polish Science for outstanding scientific achievements and discoveries. In the field of exact sciences, the prize was awarded to Prof. Ryszard Horodecki in 2008 and Prof. Marek Żukowski in 2013 for research into quantum physics. In 1999 the Foundation for Polish Science Prize in natural and medical sciences went to Prof. Dr hab. Maciej Żylicz, then a researcher with the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk, for his research into regulatory proteins. In 2018 Dr hab. Michał R. Szymański, associate professor, became a winner of EMBO Installation Grants, thus receiving funding to establish an innovative research laboratory, and in 2019 he received a prestigious ERC Starting Grant from the European Council to finance pioneering and ground-breaking research.

Numerous scientific prizes are also awarded to young scientists as well as researchers implementing new technologies and solutions to the economy. The University of Gdańsk stands out with regard to women ranking high in world science, coming fourth amongst universities worldwide in relation to women scientists as authors of scientific publications (CWTS Leiden Ranking 2019).

It would be impossible to list all its awards but the University’s indisputable academic tradition has been upheld by Pomerania’s most important award – the Johannes Hevelius Scientific Award of the City of Gdańsk, presented to University of Gdańsk researchers since its inception. In Natural Sciences and Pure Sciences the winners have been Professor Dr hab. Maciej Żylicz (1992), Professor Dr hab. Karol Taylor (1995), Professor Dr hab. Zbigniew Grzonka (1999), Professor Dr hab. Grzegorz Węgrzyn (2003), Professor Dr hab. Marcin Pliński (2007), Professor Dr hab. Ryszard Horodecki (2008) and Professor Dr hab. Jerzy Błażejowski (2012), Professor Dr hab. Marek Żukowski (2015), Professor Dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski (2018). In Humanities, this prestigious award has been won by Professor Dr hab. Roman Wapiński (2001), Professor Dr hab. Edmund Kotarski (2002), Professor Dr hab. Józef Bachórz (2003), Professor Dr hab. Bohdan Dziemidok (2004), Professor Dr hab. Józef Borzyszkowski (2005), Professor Dr hab. Jerzy Limon (2006), Professor Dr hab. Małgorzata Czermińska-Książek (2007), Professor Dr hab. Zdzisław Brodecki (2009), Professor Dr hab. Jan Burnewicz (2010), Professor Dr hab. Mirosław Szreder (2011), Professor Dr hab. Brunon Synak (2012), and Professor Dr hab. Stefan Chwin (2013), Professor Dr hab. Mieczysław Nurek (2014), Professor Dr hab. Jerzy Zajadło (2016), Professor Dr hab. Cezary Obracht-Prondzyński (2017).

In 2003, a new scientific award was inaugurated in Gdańsk for young scientists – the “Young Heweliusz” – which since 2006 has been known as the City of Gdańsk’s Jan Uphagen Scientific Award for Young Scientists. Among the winners of this award have been young researchers from the University of Gdańsk: Dr Sławomir Antkiewicz (2003), Dr Oktawian Nawrot (2004), Dr Karol Horodecki and Dr Monika Bokiniec (2006), Dr Kamil Zeidler (2007), Dr Michał Harciarek (2008), Dr Paweł Antonowicz and Dr Robert Łyżeń (2009), Dr Sylwia Freza and Dr Magdalena Giers (2011), Jakub Szlachetko (2012), Piotr Kitowski (2013), Dr Anna Klimaszewska and Dr Marta Kolanowska (2014), Wacław Kulczykowski (2016), Piotr Zieliński (2017), Dr Marta Skowron Volponi (2018), Dr Karolina Pierzynowska and Aleksandra Mańkowska (2019).

Open University - education, students, possibilities

The University offers a wide range of forms of education. Some of these are interdisciplinary, and several are undertaken in cooperation with other academic centres in Poland and abroad, including through student exchange programmes such as MOST or ERASMUS Plus, and as part of bilateral agreements. Our programmes are directed to a wide range of potential students, irrespective of age, profession, place of residence, or previous education.

The University of Gdańsk provides education in 87 fields of study, comprising 205 specializations, full-time and part-time studies, at the level of first or second cycle studies, or within comprehensive (long cycle) five-year master’s programmes. Every year new fields of study are developed, and every effort is made to adapt our educational offer to the needs of the job market and the challenges facing 21^st-century society. The syllabuses in the majority of new fields have a general educational or practical orientation, and they are devised in cooperation with experts and those with practical experience in specific areas. In this the University draws on the knowledge and experience of employers. The most recent fields of study and specialities include Applied Informatics, Health Care Institution Management, Production of Audio-Visual Forms, Insurance – Interdisciplinary Studies, Physical Geography and Geoinformation, Health Care Technology and Criminology and Criminal Justice. In recent years the UG has also introduced Genetics and Experimental Biology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Mathematical Modelling and Data Analysis, Chemical Business, Sinology, Neurobiopsychology, Computer Applications in Business and Taxes and Tax Consultancy. In addition, the University of Gdańsk has been expanding its range of courses conducted in English, with the offer currently including Intercultural and Business Relations in Europe, Financial Analyst, Cultural Communication, Criminology and Criminal Justice. Others, including Business Informatics, are in the planning stage. 

A wide range of postgraduate courses and the possibility of further studies at doctoral schools – the Intercollegiate School of Biotechnology UG and MUG, the Doctoral School of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences help students to continue their pursuit of academic interests and develop their existing qualifications. The rich offer of postgraduate studies allows them to develop professional skills and obtain new qualifications and certificates.

Students may choose from amongst seven foreign languages on offer and learn them as part of a foreign language course. The offer of physical activities is also wide, students can choose from a wide range of sporting and physical activities. Students also engage in research as part of their studies. There are 120 student faculty research groups, 11 doctoral research groups and 17 student associations, organisations and interfaculty research groups at the University. Some students undertake their first research activities within the framework of grants won by their teachers. The new forms of learning encourage the use of multimedia in education, with interactive e-learning courses on offer and an increasing numbers of books and journals available in the electronic form. 

During their studies, UG students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories which help to hone their  professional skills. These include the Laboratory for the Simulation of Television Recordings and Film Documentation of the University of Gdańsk, the most modern academic television studio in Poland, used in practical workshops in Journalism or Film Studies and modern fully equipped radio studio. Students can use modern workshops such as the Thomson Reuters Data Suite, which provides free access to financial data relating to firms, a unique dealing room (in which they may practice stock-market operations in real time), a trading lab, IT workshop with mobile technologies, a modern translation laboratory for teaching oral translation, a physics laboratory with measuring equipment unique in Poland and a workshop for applied work in medical physics and for medical imaging.

Student practical work and placements, including those abroad, play an important part in studies at the University of Gdańsk. The University of Gdańsk Careers Office is a leader among professional advisory bodies in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It helps graduates to find work and to make decisions concerning their professional development.

All these initiatives are part of our aim to combine theoretical knowledge with practical skills. This expands the opportunities of University of Gdańsk graduates in the job market, and it has won the University a leading place among Polish universities in terms of the level of graduate employment and salaries.

Apart from acquiring knowledge, students can realise their passions and broaden their interests in faculty and interfaculty scientific research groups and student organisations operating at the University of Gdańsk. They can participate in the Academic Choir of the University of Gdańsk, which has won many prizes at international festivals, the Jantar Song and Dance Ensemble, or the Alternator Academic Cultural Centre, which organises cultural projects and events that are important for the whole Pomerania region. Another important part of academic life is sport, and the teams of the UG Academic Sports Union and of the Physical Education and Sports Department regularly win medals and awards in the most important sporting competitions in Poland and abroad.

Students actively involved in scientific circles and student organisations are achieving spectacular successes, every year winning awards for innovative ideas, inventions and IT applications at international competitions in the USA, Europe and Asia. They distinguish themselves through their research and organisational activity and their work for the benefit of Pomerania’s local community. Their numbers include finalists in Pomerania’s largest Red Rose Competition for the best students (Agnieszka Piotrowska-Kirschling was the 2019 winner and best student in Pomerania), the prestigious Diamond Grant competition by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as well as the most important scientific distinction in Pomerania  – the City of Gdańsk Johann Uphagen Award for Young Scientists. University of Gdańsk researchers have been recipients of this award since its inception, the 2019 winners being Aleksandra Mańkowska in Humanities and Social Sciences and Karolina Pierzynowska in Exact and Natural Sciences. University of Gdańsk students and doctoral students receive scholarships from the Mayor of the City of Gdańsk and the Marshall of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, can boast spectacular sporting achievements and win awards for young creators in culture. The Academic Business Incubator has also been successful, helping students in attaining professional independence by providing assistance in setting up their own companies. The University of Gdańsk is among the top ten Polish universities in regard to being the most friendly towards young entrepreneurs and holds the title of TOP 10 Startup Friendly in the ranking of Academic Business Incubators.

Each year the University of Gdańsk hosts an increasing number of foreign students. In the academic year 2019/2020, full-time studies at the University were undertaken by 496 students from all over the world including Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Norway, the USA and UK. As part of the Erasmus programme, 116 students arrived mainly from Spain, Turkey, Italy, Romania, Germany, France, Portugal, Greece and Croatia.

The University of Gdańsk implements the idea of lifelong learning by encouraging active participation in academic life as part of the Open University. It is home to the Gdańsk University of the Third Age, which for many years has enjoyed immense popularity, it also offers education to the youngest with its Children’s University, adolescents can study at the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz University Secondary School, and younger children can learn at the innovatory university kindergarten. The Open University also offers a wide range of open lectures, debates, meetings or possibilities to visit University campuses, including such exceptional places as the Museum of Criminalistics, the Museum of Amber Inclusions or the unique UG EcoPark.

Investment and Development at the University of Gdańsk

The University of Gdańsk’s investment in development is concentrated in the expansion of the University on three campus sites: in Gdansk Oliwa, in Sopot, and in Gdynia. The University’s infrastructure has been developed mainly due to financial resources obtained from European Union programmes. New faculty buildings, and work units, and laboratories, provided with state-of-the-art equipment, open up new possibilities for scientific and scholarly research, and for cooperation with the economy and with business. They have a significant influence on the development of staff for the administration and economy of Pomerania and the entire Baltic region.

The largest group of University of Gdańsk students, employees, and buildings is concentrated on the Gdańsk Oliwa Campus. It is home to the Faculty of Biology, the Faculty of Chemistry, the Faculty of Languages and Literatures, the Faculty of History, the Faculty of Mathematics, the Faculty of Physics and Computer Studies, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Law and Administration. It also contains the Main University Library, student dormitories, and the University Administration. The establishment of the Campus in Gdańsk Oliwa goes back to the 1970s but its intense development, which has led to the emergence of what is currently the largest and most modern academic centre, was initiated by the construction of the new building of the Faculty of Law and Administration (2002). The expansion of the University campus in Gdansk Oliwa, part of the dynamic development of the Three Cities area in general, has entirely changed the appearance of this district of Gdańsk.

The year 2006 marked the construction of the Main Library of the University of Gdańsk, the most modern library in the Pomeranian region, which serves as a university centre for scientific information. Entirely computerized, it offers open access to more than half a million volumes. Its reading rooms fully meet the requirements of the twenty-first century, and its special rooms for individual work are at used by students and the academic community of the whole region.

Recent investments include the Social Sciences Faculty building which also houses the Institute of Geography. The building was opened in 2008. It contains modern lecture halls, with multi-media equipment, special facilities for sociology, observation, therapy, visual arts, and music, a photographic studio, a radio studio, and also a spacious foyer that can host exhibitions and concerts. Since 2019, the Faculty has been home to the Laboratory for the simulation of television recordings and film documentation of the University of Gdańsk. The laboratory boasts a television studio, fully equipped with state-of-the-art devices including virtual set design, a modern studio control room, film editing workstations, and newsrooms, as well as professional computers and specialist software. The cost of the investment was nearly 5.5 million PLN. The University received funding for the project in excess of 4 million PLN as part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Regional Operational Programme for 2014-2020, in addition to the University’s own contribution of more than 1 million PLN. The project partner is 2Pi Group sp. z o.o. 

The University campus in Gdansk Oliwa is the site of one of the largest investments in Poland, co-financed by the European Union from the resources of the European Regional Development Fund, Infrastructure and Environment Operational Fund (Priority Axis 13). The construction of the faculties of Chemistry and Biology was the largest investment in Poland, co-financed form the EU’s European Regional Development Fund as part of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. The cost of the project entitled “The Construction of the Buildings of the Faculty of Chemistry and the Faculty of Biology of the University of Gdańsk”  amounted to nearly 240 million PLN, of which funding from the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment stood at over 231 million PLN. The total cost of the construction of the Faculty of Biology including equipment was nearly 105 million PLN and over 133 million PLN for the Faculty of Chemistry.

The new building of the Faculty of Biology with a total floor space of over 23,000 m² was opened on 1 October 2012 and comprises three parts: two consisting of four-storeys and one of five-storeys which are connected by a spacious hall, impressively equipped with lush greenery. Each wing of the building is devoted to a different specialty: molecular, environmental and experimental biology. It boasts modern auditoriums, lecture rooms and classrooms, as well as scientific and other specialist laboratories fitted with state-of-the-art research equipment. The building is also home to temporary and permanent exhibitions including the Museum of Amber Inclusions, the Malawi Aquarium, bird, reptile and mammal exhibits, large-scale models of predatory arthropods, a collection of carnivorous plants, a formicarium with farmer ants, an exhibition of mammal skeletons including one of the fin whale, the world’s second largest animal, as well as large-scale murals depicting the tree of life from a historical and molecular perspective. All of this puts the building amongst one of the spots most frequently visited by Tri-City residents and pupils.

The Faculty of Chemistry was formally opened on 27 May 2013. This building complex is an integrated collection of buildings designed for teaching, research, workshops, and storage. The surface area is 28,572 square meters. It holds modern research and teaching laboratories, lecture and seminar rooms, and auditoriums. The auditoriums’ modern infrastructure makes it possible to hold multi-session conferences here. There is technological hall, in which research and teaching can be conducted in chemical and environmental engineering. An important aspect of the new building is an area dedicated to a university workshop for physical and chemical measurements, which is made possible by concentrating modern research equipment in one place.

The year 2015 saw the completion of three more investments, namely the buildings of Neophilology, Central Administration and the Institute of Biotechnology. 

The new Neophilology building of the Faculty of Languages is home to institutes concerned with the study of foreign languages as well as research into and education in the field of language, literature and culture of other countries. The infrastructure of the new building comprises modern lecture rooms, laboratories for the practice of translation and phonetics, computer rooms, a professional theatre hall, an e-learning centre and administration rooms. The building is also equipped with the latest technologies and devices, including simultaneous interpretation systems.  It was constructed as part of the project entitled “The Construction of the Building of Neophilology of the Faculty of Languages as part of the Baltic Campus of the University of Gdańsk in Gdańsk”, co-financed from funds from the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomeranian Voivodeship 2007-2013. The funding amounted to over 37 million PLN.

The Central Administration building is a separate investment. It accommodates a modern archive for the whole University, the IT Centre, the Finance Office, offices for the principal University administrators and officers, and other Central Administration offices, along with training and conference facilities.

Construction of the new Institute of Biotechnology was completed in December 2015. The project was part of the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment. The total value of the investment was more than 60.5 million PLN, of which more than 60.4 million PLN came from Programme funds. The Institute of Biotechnology Building is one of the most modern teaching and research facilities in Poland. It has a surface area of 7,868.18 m² and has four floors above ground and one below. It contains specialised laboratories, for example, for bio-informatics or bio-molecular analyses, a filtron unit, an isotope laboratory, workshops for developmental research, and state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The latter include teaching laboratories, research and teaching laboratories, seminar rooms, computer rooms, an auditorium, space for student research groups, and a reading room. There is also a Faculty Council chamber.

The most recent investment is the building of the Institute of Informatics erected as part of the project entitled “The Expansion of the Building of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of the University of Gdańsk in Gdańsk for the Purposes of Practical Education” (officially opened on 25 November 2019). The building comprises five storeys (one underground and four overground), with a net floor area of circa 3,912 m² and a cubic capacity of 22,678 m³ and is linked to the existing building of the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics. It houses seminar and computer rooms, auditoria as well as research, didactic and office rooms. The didactic rooms have been fitted with modern equipment to assist the education of future IT staff. The investment is a response to the needs of a job market seeking IT specialists and is mainly used by students of Applied Information Technology. The value of the investment is over 39 million PLN. The University of Gdańsk received over 21 million PLN funding as part of the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomeranian Voivodeship for 2014-2020, while the remaining cost of 18 million PLN is the University’s own contribution. The project partner was Kainos Software Poland Sp. z o.o. The investment was completed in the second half of 2019.

A unique place on the UG Campus in Gdańsk Oliwa is the Maciej Płażyński University of Gdańsk EcoPark (officially opened on 7 June 2018) which occupies an area between the Faculties of Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics, Physics and Informatics.  It protects and promotes biodiversity while serving educational, scientific and recreational functions. It is here that scientific research into particularly vulnerable species and practical classes for the students of the Faculties of Biology and Chemistry will be conducted. The park will also enhance the ecological merits of Gdańsk by increasing access to green areas which have been appropriately adapted to serve as relaxation spots for UG students as well as Tri-City residents. It is home to a unique collection of rare and endangered indigenous species of plants from the Pomeranian region and provides a basis for scientific research into particularly vulnerable species. The entire cost of the project amounted to nearly 3 million PLN, with the University receiving over 2 million PLN as funding from the Regional Operational Programme for the Pomeranian Voivodeship for 2014-2020, as well as 650,000 PLN from the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

Other plans include the construction of the University Sports and Recreation Centre at the UG Campus in Gdańsk Oliwa.

By long tradition, Sopot is the home of economics. The Faculties of Economics and Management are there, and from October 2010 it is also the site of the Computer Centre, which joins the older and the newer part of the Faculty. The project was co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund, as part of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Regional Operational Programme for years 2007-2013. The Faculty of Economics was also expanded by a modern five-storey building, with a surface area of 5,550 square meters, which exploits the space between the wings of the Faculty and links them, thus creating an integral whole. In the newly constructed part, there is a modern 400-seat auditorium and a 150-seat lecture hall. It also contains the Faculty Council chamber, 16 teaching rooms, including two computer rooms, seminar and tutorial rooms, recording rooms, and technical and sanitary facilities. The plans for the Sopot Campus also include the construction of a new student dormitory.

In 2005, on the Gdynia campus, the home of the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, a central building for the Institute of Oceanography was constructed, with modern laboratories and work units, and an exhibition area.

The expansion of the University of Gdańsk Campus has provided an opportunity to create in Pomerania one of the most significant academic and research centres in the Baltic region, currently serving the role of the Pomeranian region’s research, didactic and student centre.

Values, Mission and Vision for the Future

The strategy adopted by the University of Gdańsk Senate in 2010, draws on the institution’s traditions, outlines its core values and mission, and sets out a vision of its development through to 2020. The University’s core values are: the rational pursuance of truth through original scientific and scholarly research, a respect for the best models in world science and scholarship, modern education in the service of the development of civilization and society, mutual respect and trust, tolerance for diversity of views, and solidarity within the entire academic community. The University’s mission is to educate valued graduates who are provided with the broad and many-facetted knowledge, skills, and competences essential in knowledge-based socio-economic life, and to make a lasting contribution to scientific and scholarly knowledge of the world and to the solving of important contemporary problems. The next decade of the University’s development will see the creation of a new level of quality in education, in scientific-scholarly research, and in cooperation with the community.

Conscious of its own potential, the University of Gdańsk strongly promotes bi- and multi-lateral initiatives in support of science and scholarship by scientific-scholarly centres and institutions in the Baltic Region. The expansion of research, the introduction of new fields of study that provide an opportunity for multi-facetted development, and further augmentation of the infrastructure for teaching and research will allow the University of Gdańsk to confirm its leadership position among tertiary-level institutions in Poland.